<p class="wysiwyg-text-align-center"><b>1945 Troplong
Mondot</b></p>

<p>BY NEAL MARTIN |&nbsp;NOVEMBER 04, 2024</p><p>Best
vintage of the 20th century? 1945. Few will argue against that. A
one-off historical nexus of victory against evil with victory in the vineyard.
In reality, many Bordeaux estates were close to ruinous conditions following
the Depression of the 1930s followed by six years of war and occupation by the
German army. Consequently, there are astonishing successes and unavoidable
failures simply through circumstance. You never quite know what to expect when
venturing beyond the First Growths.</p>

<p>I must
confess that I had no idea what I would find when a 1945 Troplong Mondot was
poured at a dinner in the Far East. I never had a vintage before the 1980s. Who
knew how the wine had evolved over several decades? I had no clue what
condition this Saint-Émilion was in at the end of the Second World War. Troplong
Mondot had been sold by Georges Thienpont in 1936, the Belgian keeping Vieux
Château Certan. The buyer was Alexander Valette, a négociant based in Saint
Ouen, who acquired Pavie in 1943.</p><p><img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1730487188101-troplong+mondot+%281%29.jpg"></p><p>But
this was one of those occasions when the wine confounded all expectations in
the best way possible. This bottle of <b>1945 Troplong Mondot</b> had been
bought at auction from the famous Graham Lyons’ cellar. Many of my most memorable
experiences have come from this exceptional sale of old bottles kept in perfect
condition. The 1945 is high-toned on the nose, some VA, not complex, yet laden
with luscious, iridescent black cherry and blueberry fruit, with just a hint of
black olive. The palate is medium-bodied, with layers of black fruit tinged
with aniseed, perfectly balanced with robust tannins, suggesting that it may
have undergone more extraction than its peers at that time. There is immense
substance, if not quite requisite finesse, though the smooth texture wins you
over in the end. The more I am acquainted with this bottle, the more I am
charmed, and after 30 minutes, it is equal to any Right Bank that I have tasted
from this vintage. What a privilege to drink. <b>97</b>/Drink 2024-2044.<br></p><p></p><div><div></div></div><p></p><div><div><p><i>© 2024, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or re-distributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright, but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.</i></p></div></div>

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